SuperSport United captain Dean Furman has shared his thoughts on Bafana Bafana defender Rivaldo Coetzee’s move to Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic.

Coetzee made the long-awaited step up in his career after Ajax Cape Town confirmed that the 20-year-old  agreed on terms to join Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Furman, who enjoyed a stint with Celtic’s bitter rivals Glasgow Rangers between 2008 and 2009, says that Celtic contacted him to get an opinion on the former Ajax Cape Town man.

‘To be honest, Celtic contacted me because I played under Rodgers,’ he told KickOff.

‘They wanted to ask me about Rivaldo. I believe he can handle the physical aspect of the league.

‘He was thrown into Bafana at a young age and he was never outmuscled against the big guys in African football.

‘I think he will adapt his game to the Scottish League. He will be working with one of the best coaches in Brendan Rodgers. I imagine his game will improve incredibly,’ he added.

Furman also spoke of the magnitude of Celtic and revealed that the Kakamas-born man faces stiff competition from players progressing through the famous Celtic academy.

‘It’s a great opportunity for any young player to play for a team the size of Celtic. They are a huge club and get to play in the Champions League and they win silverware.

‘Rivaldo is probably excited. They have a good academy set-up and there will be other players coming up, so there will be competition.

‘It’s going to be a big challenge for him and hopefully he can rise to it,’ he said.

Photo: Barry Aldworth/BackpagePix

– This story originally appeared on SportsClub.co.za